ELYSIUM – Interview with the band via Angels PR Music Promotion #elysium
Interview conducted and submitted by Marian Nicolaou via Angels PR Music Promotion

What led you to the decision to form Elysium. Please let us know the band’s bio.

Elysium was originally formed in Orvieto, Italy, in early 2013 by bassist Marco Monetini, violinist Christian Arlechino, with the involvement of drummer Flavio Lovisa. The core of the group was born out of common artistic interests that we held together with regards to songwriting style, work-ethic philosophy and mutual musical desires. Between 2014 and 2015, we wrote and recorded our debut Ep album, “Symphony of a forest”. In 2016 new members joined us: singer Daphne Nisi and guitarist Simone Moratto, who definitely have changed the compositions, giving a more powerful and Rock sound to band along the infusion of soulful vocals. Leading us to our first album, Labyrinth of fallen angels, released in 2019 by Lion Music.

In Elysium we hear influences from Nightwish and Within Temptation, but also from Eluveite and Anathema and then from the 70’s progressive rock. Which are your influences in your opinion and would you describe your music style?

The musical idea behind this project is to have a symphonic rock where various influences and musical insertions can coexist in a true and new kind of crossover genre. And that’s why we can hear the 70’s symphonic rock of the Queen, the Caravan, the Camel along with the Vivaldi’s classical influences, a real reference point for the melodies of the violin, tied together with a folk vein typical of Jethro Tull or Eluveite . Also you can hear influences of bands such as Anathema or Whitin Temptation especially in the vocal and keyboard parts. The main goal with making this album was to blend together more musical genres, giving life to a crossover style that is not well identifiable, even though it has a strong rock component combined with a strong pop melody, so that it could be heard by a large audience, even by those who do not usually listen to rock music.

Why did you decide to use female vocals in Elysium? Do you think they match better with your music?

Yes, basically the songs match perfectly with the female sound, as they are quite melodic.

How do you compose and orchestrate an Elysium song?

Most of the songs are composed by Marco, the bass player, who writes chords and finds the mood of the song, and by Daphne, the singer, who composes the melodies and also writes the lyrics. Not less important are the riffs created by Simone,  the guitar player, all the changes in rhythm during the songs applied by Flavio, the drummer, and of course the voicing of the piano and keyboards complete and fulfill the arrangements, like also the captivating violin themes by Christian!

What has been the response to “Labyrinth of Fallen Angels” so far?

We are very happy about many positive reviews we received from magazines and of course thankful to every fan that has purchased our album, the many radios that  played some of our tunes and interviewed us..so far, considering that we don’t have a big major label, we are very satisfied with the album response!

Did you support the album with live shows and touring? Share your live show experiences with our readers.

Yes, we did some live show to promote the album and it has been incredible playing our new songs in front of a big audience that warmly welcomed us on every concert.

Is there a scene in Italy at the moment in your music style? Which bands would you recommend?

There is a rock, symphonic scene in Italy, although it still is a niche..our friends Teodasia, Aeternum, and many other brilliant bands are great bands that for sure we would recommend!

Which are the main themes of your lyrics?

The lyrics are mostly written by the singer and are inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, with particular attention to the figure of Ulysses, who is also found in Dante’s hell: from this reading she started to picture an Ulysses of our times who is facing the various aspects of the odyssey of modern life. Many of the topics dealt with in this incredible story seemed to be in fact extremely actual, proving how this opus, although it is so ancient, remains among the most interesting ever. “Evanescent”.

For example, what the mythological figure of the mermaid represents in the Odyssey, that is the risk of being fooled by appearances and be swallowed forever by the sea, transposed to nowadays seems to be a perfect metaphor of what is happening with the virtual world and the social media, kingdom of appearances that often engulfs all of us at the cost of our own time spent in real life that is becoming every day less than before. “Siren”.

Or the question about cunning, the major trait of Ulysses, which can lead to power, but which can also cause a war if used without the exercise of morals – the reason why Dante decides to place Ulysses in hell – made her think of globalization that is entering the world like a great Trojan horse, conforming to a standard model those that are the characteristics that form the individual identities of populations, the general inattention of the great powers towards the problem of pollution and how they use cunning more for their own economic interests than for the well-being of society, and that therefore, if a powerful collective awakening of the human being does not take place, this Trojan horse will end up unleashing again some great war. “Before the end.

Maybe we are all a bit Ulysses and we find ourselves day after day living our battles, trying to overcome our hurdles, our “sirens”, illusions, fears and sometimes defeats, each facing his own personal journey in this life. Until one day, looking back, we realize the road we’ve traveled and we finally get to say “Here I am”, and we realize that everything we’ve done has led us to be who we are, for better or for worse, just like Ulysses, we come back home.

Did you have any previous experience with bands before Elysium?

Yes, every member of Elysium, before playing in this project, played in other bands and some of us still do!

Marco, the bass player, played in an italian prog/metal band called “Gerico” , Christian, the violinist, plays in an irish/folk band called “La Tresca” and our front woman Daphne sings in a vocal quartet called “Baraonna”.

How much did the pandemic affect Elysium and how did you handle it as a band?

A lot, meaning that all concerts were cancelled unfortunately. But we are spending our free time composing new stuff and working on growing our fan base from home for now.

What are your next steps with the band and which are your biggest dreams?

Biggest dream is to grow as a band and to reach more audience and spread the love and passion for and through our music. We are working on new songs, hoping to sign with a big label to produce a new album or ep.

Visit us on:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/elysiumgothic/

Instagram –  https://www.instagram.com/elysium.band.gothic/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Elysiumband1 

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVKF7wbSElJsW90yH6qTkNQ